However, much of the research shows that above a certain threshold — between 15 and 25 hours worked — paid student employment can be detrimental to perseverance and success (Remenick & Bergman, 2021).
Paid work while studying has experienced exceptional growth in Québec since the 1980s, in tandem with the development of the consumer society (Roy, 2008). Around two-thirds of college and university students are employed (Bonin & Girard, 2017; Gaudreault & al., 2019), mainly part-time and in the service sector (Institut de la statistique du Québec, 2019).
Working while Studying: the Number of Hours Counts
Part-time student employment has its advantages: providing for oneself (Gaudreault & al., 2019) or acquiring skills such as the ability to work in a team or communicate, developing one’s sense of responsibility and so on (Réseau réussite Montréal, n.d.).
In fact, the more a student works, the less likely they are to devote time to their studies (Réseau réussite Montréal, 2023). The negative consequences of too much work while studying can include, among other things, reduced sleep time, increased anxiety, scheduling conflicts and fewer course choice options (Remenick & Bergman, 2021).
The maximum threshold for the number of hours worked is quite broad – between 15 and 25 hours – as the negative effect of paid work depends on a number of factors: dependent children, disability, caregiving, etc. In the case of people from lower socio-economic backgrounds, for example, balancing school and work is not a choice and involves longer hours of paid work to secure a source of income (Tremblay & Alberio, 2014).
For instance, full-time bachelor’s degree students who work between 1 and 5 hours a week have a graduation rate of 85% (Bonin, 2021). For those who work between 6 and 24 hours a week, the figure is still around 80%. After 25 hours of paid work per week, they are at greater risk of not completing their program of study (ibid.).
A Student Job in Line With One’s Field of Study
Work experience brings many benefits if it is related to a student’s field of study (Heinrich & al., 2023). It can enable them to translate knowledge acquired in the classroom to real-life situations (Remenick & Bergman, 2021), which can contribute to academic success (Brint & Cantwell, 2010). One of the main benefits of paid employment in one’s field of study is to develop various skills for the student’s future socio-professional integration (Darolia, 2014).
Work experience in one’s field of academic training fosters the student’s commitment to their studies, while complementing the learning process.
For a comparable number of hours, graduation rates are higher when employment is related to the academic training project. (Bonin, 2020)
Conversely, the further a part-time job is from the field of study and exceeds the maximum threshold of hours worked, i.e., 20 to 25 hours/week, the more the time devoted to studies is reduced (Belghith, 2015). At such point, not only is there a high risk of undermining the “student profession,” i.e., the learning of academic content, but also the acquisition of the explicit and implicit rules governing the operation of higher education, particularly at the beginning of the pathway (ibid.).
Benefits of student employment in line with one’s field of study:
- Get to know oneself better, with one’s strengths and limitations (Roy, 2008);
- Strengthen one’s sense of responsibility and autonomy (ibid.);
- Become familiar with the realities of the labour market, its culture and its requirements (Réseau réussite Montréal, 2023);
- Obtain appreciation and recognition (ibid.);
- Identify with representative models (Réseau réussite Montréal, n.d.);
- Establish a network of contacts in the world of work (Remenick & Bergman, 2021; Vultur, 2023);
- Acquire work experience in line with one’s profession before graduation (ibid.);
- Ensure a smoother transition to the labour market as a graduate (ibid.).
About Internships
Work experience during studies can take the form of an internship, or be part of a work-study program (Gouvernement du Québec, 2023), which is more common in college-level technical training or professional university training (nursing, psychology, engineering, etc.). In this respect, the Assemblée nationale recently unanimously adopted a motion for the remuneration of student internships, calling on the government to recognize the status of “salaried employee” for student interns in the public sector (Assemblée nationale, 2023).
Concerning the concept of salary or remuneration, current negotiations on remuneration for internships highlight the financially precarious and overburdened conditions in which the student population is evolving, against a backdrop of inflation.
In fact, many students have to take on unpaid internships and part-time jobs to support themselves. This is the case for public-sector internships in “female-dominated” fields (MES, 2019): nursing, teaching, special education, social work, psycho-education, speech therapy, and so on. Most private-sector internships in “male-dominated” fields (science, engineering, technology) are well paid, at around $20/hour (Faculté des sciences et de génie de l’Université Laval, 2021). Ministerial engineering internships are also paid.
Paying compensation or a salary in public-sector female-dominated internships would not only enhance the status of public-sector professions and prevent the exodus of certain professions to the private sector (QSU, 2021), but also ensure greater gender equity (FECQ, 2022) in terms of the socio-economic conditions required for success in higher education.
Role Overload: the Example of Female Student Parents
A number of students are more vulnerable to financial insecurity, but also to role overload (studies, parenthood, internships, work, caregiving, etc.) (Gaudreault & al., 2019; Tremblay & Alberio, 2014).
Students with family responsibilities — the majority of whom are women — are one of the groups most vulnerable to role overload.
For instance, many college students report having difficulty balancing their studies and employment (45%), compared to those without family responsibilities (27%) (Gaudreault & al., 2019).It should be noted that students with dependent children are generally older than other students, have less flexible working hours and are subject to high psychological pressure (ibid.). They are more likely (24%) to be thinking of giving up their studies than the childless student population (12%) (ibid.).
The more they invest in these two life roles (study and work), the more likely they are to find themselves in a situation of “inter-role conflict,” where the spheres of study and work interfere with each other (Doucet, 2014). These inter-role conflicts lead to increased fatigue and psychological distress as well as to a reduction in general well-being (ibid.).
Female student parents also report difficulties in carrying out their internships: they often have to reconcile paid work, family life and their internship (St-Hilaire, 2023). As mentioned above, most internships in female-dominated sectors are unpaid.
Remuneration or compensation for internships would enable this student population to reduce the number of hours they spend in employment while they are in a period of experiential learning (ibid.), thereby fostering conditions conducive to success.
Courses of Action to Foster Student Remuneration that Supports Success
For Student Services, Particularly Placement and Employment Services
- Guide students toward jobs as close as possible to their field of study to reap the benefits related to skills development and to their future socio-professional integration (Heinrich & al., 2023; Neyt & al., 2019).
- Increase awareness of the role of employment counsellors in employability and in the transition to the labour market, which is little known by the student population (Bohl & al., 2017; CAPRES, 2021; Remenick & Bergman, 2021).
- Continue the dialogue with employers to raise awareness about work-study balance — including flexible schedules (Gaudreault & al., 2019) — and to promote the value of studies among part-time working students (Réseau réussite Montréal, 2023).
- Be attentive to signs of overload or exhaustion among students, particularly those from lower socio-economic backgrounds (Réseau réussite Montréal, 2023).
- Create awareness campaigns on work-study balance, prioritizing studies (ibid.).
For Institution Administrations and Members of Management
- Promote higher education and graduation as a counterbalance to the pressure exerted by the shortage of labour (Réseau réussite Montréal, n.d.).
- Continue the dialogue with government authorities regarding remuneration or financial compensation for internships.
- Participate in multi-stakeholder discussions to better understand the reality of student internships: professional orders, Commission des partenaires du marché du travail, higher education institutions, student associations, etc.
- Develop more cooperative work-study programs at the college and university level, particularly in humanities and social sciences, in collaboration with government ministries, community groups, and public and para-public bodies (CAPRES, 2021).
- Create jobs on campus to foster — especially among the international student population — the development of social relationships, belongingness to the institution attended (Nuñez & Sansone, 2016; Rossmann & Trolian, 2020) and a positive overall student experience (Lang, 2012).
- Create an institutional committee to address the socio-economic realities of students with family responsibilities, with the aim of improving their conditions for success.
- Conduct institutional research on student populations vulnerable to work-study-family overload (Tremblay, 2023).
For the ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur
- Support institutions as part of the International Work-Study Program.
- Increase the budget allocated to the Work-Study Program to improve the number of subsidized student jobs on campus.
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